Jose Abreu

They were pretty cheap when they let Washington outbid them on Corbin after proclaiming to the world that they would not be outbid

Perhaps. Also possible they increased it from 8/250 to 8/250 with more incentives and vesting options. In any case, I think the Sox are doing a good job right now of controlling the message and making everyone think they're out on Harper. I highly doubt that they convert though.

And they were wrong. Gomez and Passan were right.

Bruce and Nightengale reporting the same thing? Well that confirms it. The Chicago White Sox are the frontrunners to sign Bryce Harper.

I disagree. He said that it's unlikely/a longshot, but didn't say that we're out

Bob Nightengale says so. You can interpret that however you'd like

Well put, both of you. It seems as though people are lumping those burner Twitter accounts, Patriots insider guy, etc. with Shack, Dave, and the rest of them as one collective "insider". The reality is that the latter group is actually honest, well-intentioned, and connected while the former is most likely just attention seeking.

Maybe I missed it, but is nobody going to mention how much of a scumbag Preller is? Not that it makes Hahn a better GM, but it at least makes Preller a lot less likable

Harper's love for Chicago and disdain for Philadelphia are each quite well-known

I feel like we have this discussion every week, but like them or not, the insiders (not the fake Twitter accounts but the ones currently being discussed) do indeed know things, and to deny is it simply delusional given their track records. You can dislike them or the way they present info, but you're in denial if you're acting like they don't have any info to begin with.

And don't forget that he's gonna do everything possible to build a roster to contend for multiple championships

https://player.radio.com/listen/station/670-the-score

Truly inexcusable if they are actually out on Harper.

I would agree, but I don't necessarily believe Levine there. Plus, didn't Reinsdorf and the Sox more or less pioneer the opt-out?

It's me giving them one more shot. I would never revoke my fandom or anything like that, but we are one of two teams in contention for Bryce Harper so I at least am willing to wait until they miss on him to declare this offseason a total failure. Do I actually think we'll sign him? No, unfortunately. Prove me wrong Jerry

I will also add that the Phillies are the only true suitor for Harper other than us with the Padres being out and the Giants only being interested in a short-term deal. This could lead to a situation where the Phillies think they have him in the bag, so they lowball him, leading us to surprise them and sign him. Pretty much exactly what just happened to us, but in reverse.

My 2 cents are that the White Sox front office was completely blindsided by Machado's decision today and is committed to not being a laughingstock for much longer. I trust the insiders who hinted that we were going for both, and I also think it's important to note that Bucket's last update on Harper was that we feel really good about where we're at with him. I believe that Harper doesn't want to play for Philadelphia and has always been drawn to Chicago. By extension, I believe that if we match their offer, he would pick us. Given our financial situation and what just happened with Machado, there is no excuse to not do this. Contradictory front office quotes on $300 million be damned, the Sox know how important this is and I hope that they at least go down swinging.

You can tell he's just trolling when he says he'll root for the Cubs. That's normal. What would make this really funny is if he were to threaten to cheer for Abreu to put up big numbers next season, especially in April.

By positive, I mean overly-pro organization. Such as the McGuffey tweet that is currently being talked about

NBC Sports Chicago as a whole has been total garbage over the past year or so (probably a little less). The whole "My Teams" app has completely shattered their way of reporting and now everything is clickbait/overly positive. I feel bad for Chuck Garfein, I have a feeling he doesn't like the new format but doesn't have much of a choice but to use it.

That makes a lot more sense then. I interpreted it as more of a snap judgment that you hate Reinsdorf and decided to just move your family to Tennessee because of it.

I mean, your kids don't need to move to Nashville in order to avoid the wrath of JR